Grilling Guru Steven Raichlen Shares His Favorite Recipes

By Irene Rawlings

Ben Fink/The Barbecue! Bible, Workman Publishing Company

Looking for the perfect barbecue and grilling recipes for Memorial Day weekend?

Steven Raichlen is to grilling what Julia Child is to French cuisine. For more than 20 years, he has shared his knowledge of live-fire cooking with aspiring gourmets of the grill. He has written 28 cookbooks (that have been translated into 15 languages) and won five James Beard Awards. He graciously agreed to share recipes from two of his cookbooks, The Barbecue! Bible and Man Made Meals: The Essential Cookbook for Guys.

The Barbecue! Bible, a 900,000-copy best seller has been redesigned for its 10th anniversary with a new section that answers the most frequently asked questions—about grills, fuels, smokers and, very importantly, testing for doneness. Man Made Meals is all about tools, techniques (yes, grilling features prominently) and includes more than 300 recipes with real guy apppeal like Blowtorch Oatmeal, Finger-Burner Lamb Chops and Steak on a Pitchfork. “Men get a real pleasure out of cooking and they enjoy showing off a little bit too,” says Raichlen.

Memphis-Style Ribs

The pork rib is one of the most perfect morsels ever to occupy a grill. The meat is generously marbled, which keeps it moist during prolonged cooking. As the fat melts, it crisps the meat fibers and bastes the meat naturally. You can choose any type of rib for this recipe—baby back ribs, long ends, short ends, rib tips. Serves 6.

For the grill

1½ cups wood chips or chunks (preferably hickory), soaked for 1 hour in cold water to cover, then drained

Set up the grill for indirect grilling and place a large drip pan in the center.

If using a gas grill, place all of the wood chips in the smoker box and preheat the grill to high. When smoke appears, reduce the heat to medium.

If using a charcoal grill, preheat it to medium. Toss the wood chips on the coals when ready to cook.

Brush and oil the grill grate. Arrange the ribs on the hot grate over the drip pan. Cover the grill and smoke cook the ribs for I hour.

When the ribs have cooked for an hour, uncover the grill and brush the ribs with mop sauce. If using a charcoal grill, you will need to add 10 to 12 fresh coals to each side of the grill.

Re-cover the grill and continue cooking the ribs until tender and almost done (¼ to ½ hour longer for baby back ribs; ½ to 1 hour longer for spare ribs).

Fifteen minutes before the ribs are done, season them with the remaining rub, sprinkling it on.

To serve, cut the racks in half.

​Tip: Cooking times are approximate. Ribs are done when the meat is tender enough to pull apart with your fingers.

[Photo: Lucy Schaffer/Man Made Meals, Workman Publishing Company]

Jalapeño Poppers

Who first had the idea to stuff a jalapeño with cheese and roast it wrapped in bacon? A guy, no doubt. The popper (aka armadillo or rattlesnake egg) may be a fixture on the American barbecue scene but, by using your favorite cheese, you can make it your own. Makes 16 poppers. Serves 4.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. If you’re using a wire rack, place it on top of a baking sheet.

Stuff the jalapeños by cutting in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrape out the seeds.

Stuff 16 of the jalapeño halves with cheese and fresh cilantro. Place the other jalapeño halves on top.

Wrap each reassembled jalapeño crosswise with a piece of bacon. Secure with a toothpick.

Arrange the jalapeños on a baking sheet. Bake until the bacon is browned and crisp and the jalapeños feel soft when squeezed, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Drain the jalapeños on paper towels.

Serve at once.

[Photo:

Oaxacan Pork Fajitas

Who knew that a cheap cut of beef—the skirt steak—would become a popular party food? (Fajita means “little girdle” in Spanish.) Here’s a pork version, fragrant with cinnamon, orange and ancho chiles. Serves 4 to 6.

Warm the tortillas (10 to 15 seconds on a side) and place in a cloth-lined basket.

Place salsa, sour cream and cilantro into separate bowls. You can serve the fajitas hot off the grill. Or, for the sizzling platter effect, arrange the slivered pork and the sliced vegetables in a pre-heated skillet and place the skillet on a trivet on the table.

Use tongs to load up the tortillas with sliced pork and grilled vegetables.

Top the fajitas with salsa, sour cream and cilantro.

Serve with lime wedges.

BBQ U

Raichlen’s popular classes—Barbecue University or BBQ UniversityTM for short—at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs are always a sell out. This year he returns with a
program called “Up In Smoke,” which focuses on the world of smoking—from hot smoking, cold smoking and smoke-roasted techniques to the best woods for smoking (think spicy pimento and pungent mesquite). In hands-on classes, students learn how to smoke and grill iconic dishes like Lone Star brisket, Carolina pork shoulder, Kentucky smoked lamb and single-malt whiskey-smoked salmon. Sessions are June 3-6 and June 7-10. For more information and to register, visitbroadmoor.com.